Bioinspired Triboelectric Surface with the Improvement of Nanogenerator Durability for Gait Analysis

Real-time gait analysis is crucial for diagnosis and rehabilitation monitoring of neuromuscular ailments. However, the existing wearable sensors for gait analysis suffer from the drawbacks of bulky, short-term stability and professional operator requirement, which restrict their applicability outside clinical settings. Here, a solid-liquid contact-based triboelectric nanogenerator is developed with soft, flexible and stretchable properties. The device is mainly composed of liquid metal and Ecoflex with biomimic shark skin microstructured surface. The unique surface property prevents the adhesion of liquid metal during sensing and facilitates real-time monitoring of signals and long-term operation stability. The as-designed low-cost, highly scalable self-powered sensor, which is also compatible with diverse detection strategies, provides an on-demand user-friendly point-of-care gait detection and rehabilitation monitoring system with significant applications in personalized health care and sports science.